The Miami Dolphins are primetime players _ whether they're ready or not.
For the first time in the storied 52-year history of the franchise, the Dolphins will play in three consecutive nationally televised night games, beginning Thursday against Baltimore, followed by a marquee Sunday game against Oakland in Week 9, and a Monday night game at Carolina in Week 10.
Now, is new starting quarterback Matt Moore ready for primetime? He certainly has looked good so far, as backup quarterbacks across the league have been pressed into action. Among those promotions, there's the dazzling Deshaun Watson in Houston, fellow rookie Mitchell Trubisky in Chicago, Case Keenum in Minnesota, Brett Hundley in Green Bay, Drew Stanton in Arizona, and the familiar quarterback carousel in Cleveland.
This is around the time every year when the starting quarterbacks fall like autumn leaves, and Sunday it was the Cardinals' Carson Palmer (broken arm) and the Dolphins' Jay Cutler (cracked ribs).
Moore stepped in for Cutler on Sunday and threw two touchdown passes against the New York Jets to lead Miami to a 31-28 come-from-behind victory. Moore completed 13 of 21 passes for 188 yards, with two touchdowns and an interception.
Cutler suffered multiple cracked ribs and is unlikely to be available Thursday. Coach Adam Gase declined to say Monday whether Cutler would remain the No. 1 quarterback when he returns to health.
"It's not ideal to say the least," Gase said in a conference call with Ravens writers, according to the Baltimore Sun. "(Cutler) missed the majority of that second half, and we'll kind of see how it goes and just get the guys ready that we know are ready to play."
Although he went 2-2 as a starter in place of the injured Ryan Tannehill last season, including a playoff loss to Pittsburgh, Moore was passed over for the starting job when Tannehill went down again this season. Gase instead coaxed Cutler, his old quarterback in Chicago, out of retirement and away from a TV analyst job. However, the Dolphins offense has been a massive disappointment, ranking last in the NFL in total yardage (1,571) and yards per play (4.3, tied with Baltimore).
Despite opting for Cutler, Gase sounds as if he has unwavering confidence in Moore, who's in his 11th season, mostly as a backup.
"He did this last year, and I don't know, it just feels like we didn't really skip a beat," the coach said. "So it's easy for us to kind of go again. Matt's a very easy guy to call plays for, because you never really hear him say, 'I don't like that,' or 'I don't like this.' He kind of just says the play and then rolls."
Accordingly, the Dolphins too are on a roll. They have won 13 of their past 17 regular-season games, and six of eight on the road. That's the club's best stretch away from home since 2010.
